The present invention relates generally to fishing rods and in particular to spinning-type fishing rods.
A spinning-type fishing rod has a long, flexible rod that creates unusual stresses on the arm of the fisherman when a fish has struck the bait and the fisherman must both fight the strength of the struggling fish and eventually struggle to reel in the fish. The arm of the fisherman is aligned at an unnatural angle during the time of maximum leverage when the rod is being pulled upwardly during a strike and likewise during the time the fisherman is reeling in the fish. Stresses are typically concentrated on the forearm of the fisherman and in particular in the wrist area of the forearm. It is apparent that as the forearm of the fisherman becomes aligned with the handle of the rod, the wrist area becomes bent at an angle relative to the rest of the forearm as pressure grows during strike activity and the fishing rod is being pulled upwardly so that unusual stress is concentrated at the sharply bent wrist, which restricts blood circulation at the wrist.
Prior art that has attempted to overcome the problem of forearm and wrist stress while fishing with a spinning rod includes patents that have the object of supporting the forearm of a fisherman holding a long fishing rod. U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,129 issued to Capra on Mar. 29, 1977, provides a fishing rod stabilizing handle which directly replaces the conventional posterior rod handle of the spinning rod or which is configured as an attachment for engagement to the conventional posterior handle. The rod stabilizing handle of is a broad upwardly directed elongate surface projecting from one side of the handle for alignment with and direct engagement of a substantial length of the underside of the forearm portion of the fisherman. U.S. Pat. No. 5,390,438, issued to Warren, Jr. on Feb. 23, 1995, describes an arm support for stabilizing a fishing rod on the arm of a fisherman and for removing at least some of the playing pressure of a fish or heavy lures from the fisherman""s wrist while the fisherman is playing the fish on a fishing line extending from a reel mounted on the fishing rod, which arm support includes an elongated straight portion which protrudes rearwardly from fixed or removable attachment to the handle of the fish rod and a generally C-shaped curved portion including multiple, short, straight rod segments connected together and shaped to fit beneath the forearm of the fisherman. One end of the curved portion is positioned under the fisherman""s wrist and the other end is located under the forearm so that the curved portion exerts pressure upwardly against the fisherman""s wrist and forearm. U.S. Pat. No. 5,313,735 issued to Latouch on May 24, 1994 discloses a splined shaft 22 glued or otherwise affixed to a fishing rod handle 12 and an arm bearing extension 16 having a splined coupling 22 splined onto splined shaft 22. Splines that run on the outside of added shaft 12 cooperate with splines that run on the inside surface of a cylindrical hole to prevent rotation of the fishing rod relative to the extension. The rod can be withdrawn from the extension and rotated and then be reinserted into spline locking relationship with the extension at a new orientation. The necessity of having a special splined shaft 22 more or less permanently affixed to the fishing rod handle greatly limits the range of usability of the Latouch invention. U.S. Pat. No. 3,372,510 issued to Arsenault on Mar. 12, 1968, discloses a hand grip and an arm support disposed in the axial direction of a fishing rod and connected to the rod handle.
My prior application Ser. No. 427,408 describes a device supporting the arm of a fisherman using a spinning-type fishing rod having a cylindrical rod handle comprising an adjustable rotatable arm cradle supporting the upper forearm of the fisherman, a partially cylindrical elongated handle support member defining a partially cylindrical compartment that holds a selected area of the fishing rod handle in alignment with the arm cradle, an adjustable post connecting the arm cradle means with the handle, and an adjustable clamp for removably gripping the rod handle to the handle support. The arm cradle is rotatable to a selected angle relative to the rod handle and is removably lockable at the selected angle. The connecting post can be lengthened or shortened to a selected position and removably locked at that position. The clamp that presses the fishing rod handle against the top of the holding compartment of the handle support member is adjustable by means of a vertical screw that raises or lowers the clamp.
My prior application Ser. No. 427,408 is incorporated by reference into the present application.
The present invention provides a device supporting the arm of a fisherman using a spinning-type fishing rod having a cylindrical rod handle providing a gripping area for the hand of the fisherman that comprises a cradle member supporting the upper forearm of the fisherman and a rod handle support member holding the fishing rod handle in alignment with the cradle member. The rod handle support member is positioned below and rotatably connected with the cradle member about a horizontal axis of rotation. The handle support member and the cradle member are each rotable about the horizontal axis to a plurality of positions in response to pressure applied to said cradle member and the rod handle support member. A clamp attached to the rod handle support member removably grips the rod handle to the handle support member. Self-adjusting positioning means both locks said cradle means with the handle support member at any of a plurality of positions at a locked position wherein the forearm is in a comfort zone and further unlocks the cradle member and the handle support member from the locked position both in response to pressure exerted by the forearm to find a new comfort zone and in response to pressure associated with the fishing rod during fishing that in turn exerts pressure on the rod handle support member. The fishing rod handle gripping compartment and the arm cradle compartment each have an axis positioned in a vertical planes that are offset from one another with the vertical plane of the cradle compartment being nearer to the torso of the fisherman so as to allow the fisherman to hold the fishing rod handle from under the handle.
My present application differs from my prior application Ser. No. 427,408 in several respects. Primarily, the ergonomics of my present invention has been improved relative to my prior application. For example, my present application includes an adjusting swivel that provides automatic rotation of the arm cradle portion relative to the rod-gripping portion. The automatically adjusting arm cradle is advantageous in two ways: first, the arm cradle automatically rotates to a new locking position in response to pressure being exerted by the fisherman""s arm at any time during fishing, particularly in response to pressure exerted during a strike; second, the arm cradle automatically rotates to the most comfortable locking position in accordance with the size of the forearm of the user. It is noted that the automatic swivel differs significantly from my prior application, which describes a manually adjustable arm cradle angle relative to the fishing rod that increases the comfort level for the fisherman. Another difference from my prior application is the elimination of the manual vertical adjustment of the arm cradle portion relative to the rod-holding portion described in my prior application. This improvement is made possible by the automatically adjusting swivel of the present invention. Furthermore, my present application has positioned the center-lines of the rod-gripping portion and the arm cradle portions at a slight offset so that the palm of the hand of the fisherman can be placed under the rod grip during use, thus increasing the ability to the fisherman to hold the fishing rod in an extended position for a longer period of time. A further feature of my present invention is that the arm cradle portion and the rod-gripping portion can be easily disassembled and placed into a fishing box and then assembled at site.
The present invention will be better understood and the objects and important features, other than those specifically set forth above, will become apparent when consideration is given to the following details and description, which when taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings, describes, illustrates, and shows preferred embodiments or modifications of the present invention and what is presently considered and believed to be the best mode of practice in the principles thereof.
Other embodiments or modifications may be suggested to those having the benefit of the teachings therein, and such other embodiments or modifications are intended to be reserved especially as they fall within the scope and spirit of the subjoined claims.